■■■editorial-^
Capitalizing on fear
When the Soviet nudear-powered spy satellite drop
ped on northern Canada, both the international system of
spying and the threat of nudear power became clearly
evident. The spy satellite systems of the United States are
now being questioned by defense offidals and the nuclear
threat posed by those satellites seems buried under the
calls for escalation in the American spy satellite programs.
The furor raised by the CIA and other defense agen
des over the satellite systems concentrated mainly on the
Soviet buildup of spy satellite systems, reportedly becom
ing more advanced than American spying machines. Soon
after the Soviet satellite descended on Canada, the CIA
descended on Congress to request another $56 billion for
the next five years to develop more spy satellites, particu
larly the hunter-killer variety.
The CIA and defense department public relations
teams are hard at work.
We re skeptical of the CIA requests. Historically, the
CIA and the defense establishment have used information
like the tale of the Soviet satellite — information which they
provide and no one but the select few in the high echelons
of government know to be true or complete—to capitalize
on public and congressional fear of Soviet military might.
They capitalize on that fear, typically, by requesting more
money.
And according to some sources, the U.S. already has
at least the beginnings of a hunter-killer satellite system.
We can’t believe that the defense establishment is
revealing all the facts about the U.S. satellite system. What
we read in the press is obviously already common know
ledge, the tip of what may or may not be a very huge—and
very dangerous — iceberg.
Not the least of the dangers involved is the possibility
of more accidents with nudear-powered satellites like the
Soviet one. There have already been seven satellite acd
dents (the Soviet mishap is the seventh) and three of them
involved U.S. satellites with nudear power sources.
The nudear reactor in the Soviet satellite, had it ex
ploded, could have created a nudear explosion far greater
than the first atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Even
without such an explosion, the radiation from the satellite is
extremely dangerous and the half-life of the radioactive
material is 713 million years. A large increase in the U.S.
satellite program would undoubtedly cause a similar in
crease in the Soviet program, adding another spiral to the
arms race.
It is perhaps necessary to maintain spy systems cap
able of keeping track of Soviet — and American — military
installations if detente is to succeed at all. Both the Ameri
can and the Soviet governments have agreed to the use of
such systems. But in light of the fact that the defense
establishment and the CIA lie so frequently about their
operations and reveal only information which will boost
their cause for bigger budgets and more armaments, the
defense recommendation that the U.S. satellite program
be drastically increased can’t be taken without quite a few
grains of salt.
V.
J
Letters
Hawaii distorted
I found the Associated Press ar
ticle written about Hawaii
(Emerald, Feb. 3) very disturbing,
totally one-sided and a gross in
justice to the people of Hawaii.
The article states the facts of
overpopulation, unemployment
and outrageous taxes which in
themselves should be adequate
reasons to inhibit growth. But the
implications of the article go much
further, “If you want to stay, be
prepared to find Hawaiians trying
to yank the welcome mat out from
under you." Exceedingly graphic,
it accuses us of aggressive rejec
tion and “we want your money but
not you".
What the article does not men
tion is many states, including
Oregon, are “guilty” of stringent
residency laws aimed at dis
couraging settlement; that every
large city in the U.S. has strict
urban zoning regulations for the
explicit purpose of keeping the
less privileged out; that California
(one of a number of states) has on
several occasions passed legisla
tion restricting immigration of
Filipinos. Chinese, Japanese and
Page 4
Mexicans, all in direct violation of
United States treaties; and more
recently the great protest that
came about when homeless Viet
namese refugees sought immig
ration.
These situations are analagous
to ours, but do not excuse us.
There are other circumstances
which are “neglected” in the arti
cle. Admittedly we rely on tourism
for much of our state income, but
Hawaiians don’t like it and many
programs are being instituted to
make the islands self-sufficient.
We are in the unique position of
being an island chain, thus lacking
in many natural resources. Those
that we do have are extremely li
mited. With an annual growth rate
of 50,000 added “outsiders", not
to mention our own offspring, we
are headed toward mass disaster,
with housing already virtually im
possible to buy.
The article also distorts the
pending legislation. One of the
major reasons for the mass im
migration is our lax welfare laws.
One of the most lenient in the na
tion, it is possible for almost any
one to qualify for support, regard
less of length of stay. Much of the
legislation is aimed toward stop
ping this. The remainder of the
legislation merely makes it more
difficult to move there through
taxes and restrictions. But no limit
ing quotas are being set, that
would be unconstitutional!
It’s simple, just as Eugene
wishes to retain it’s present at
mosphere of a friendly, pleasant
middle-sized town, nice place to
live. So, the people of Hawaii wish
to retain some of it’s fast disap
pearing culture and unique way of
life.
Perhaps our only crime is the
legend of Hawaii’s hospitality. For
us it is a way of life, maybe it
shouldn’t be so. In the past few
months we have been repeatedly
criticized by the media for the very
same reason. It’s time for the
other side's point of view.
But all of these facts do not jus
tify the behavior of the Hawaiian
people. It is our fault for
everyone’s misconception of
“paradise.” It is our job, no, our
sworn duty and obligation to wel
come everyone with open, loving
arms of aloha!
Brian Tamanaha
Junior, English
Debate impossible?
One wonders where Mr. Holden
got the impression, expressed in
his letter of January 24, that our
debate on biorhythms that was to
have taken place on KUGN Radio
just before Christmas was going
to be rescheduled for sometime
this term. There was, in fact, never
any possibility of such a re
scheduling since I left Eugene
permanently at Christmas time,
having completed my PhD, for a
job here in Boston. Mary-Beth
Bowen, moderator of KUGN’s
Talk Radio, has confirmed to me
that she explicitly informed Hol
den of this when attempts to
schedule the debate were origi
nally made.
In an earlier column (November
23, 1977) Mr. Holden stated that
he did not like to “load them stu
dents’ down with tacts”. His letter
of the 24th of January demon
strates the truth of that statement.
Terence Hines
Research Psychologist
GRECC/VA Outpatient Clinic
Boston, Mass.
The Emerald will accept and
try to print all letters and opin
ion columns containing fair
comment on ideas and topics
of concern or interest to the
University community. Letters
and opinions will be run on a
first-come, first-served basis.
Both letters and opinion col
umns must be typewritten,
using 65 character margins,
and should be triple-spaced.
Letters and opinions must be
signed and the author s field of
study (or faculty status) noted.
Tuesday, February 7, 1978
-—Washington today
Congress to tinker with taxes
By WALTER R. MEARS
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON — President
Carter has a word for Congress as
it prepares to tinker with his tax cut
and reform program: don’t.
But Congress will, as sure as
death and taxes.
So it is hard to see what Carter
gained with his warning that any
changes in his economic game
plan will risk putting the whole
thing out of whack.
Carter said his economic pro
gram is too finely tuned to be al
tered without inviting trouble. That
stakes out a firm bargaining posi
tion on the tax measures and jobs
programs he has recommended
to Congress. In the end, there al
most surely will have to be some
compromise, but that can be
worked out between the White
House and Congress.
However, Carter can’t negotiate
and he has said he won’t seek to
legislate, the voluntary inflation
control system he listed as a key
element of his economic blueprint.
That request for wage and price
restraint under voluntary
guidelines has run into skepticism
in the business community.
The president said long ago he
would not seek authority to en
force wage and price restraints,
so he doesn't have much to bar
gain with on that point.
All he can do is ask for coopera
tion, as he did at his news confer
ence on Monday.
“Economic policy depends, for
its success, on a very careful bal
ance between different interests,
between sometimes conflicting
national needs, between doing
too much on the one hand, doing
too little on the other,” the presi
dent said. "To modify one element
of a balanced plan can often de
stroy this balance and can aggra
vate our economic problems.
He said his proposals strike the
right balance, with a net tax reduc
tion of $25 billion, counting the $9
billion that would be saved
through his reform proposals.
“Without these needed re
forms, we would not be able to
afford so large a tax reduction,”
Carter said. But reform is a
synonym for increase in some tax
categories and the Carter pro
posals, far more modest than he
outlined as a candidate, already
are encountering some resistance
in Congress.
Rep. Al Ullman, D-Ore., chair
man of the House Ways and
Means Committee, has expres
sed concern at the net cost of the
Carter tax package.
So he’s talking about paring
down the reductions.
On the other hand, there’s
pressure to raise the ante, and
Ullman is concerned that it will
grow stronger when the tax bill
reaches the Senate.
Carter said his jobs programs,
including $1.1 billion in new funds
for youth jobs and to encourage
private business to hire the unem
ployed, also are a crucial element
in a balanced economic program.
On that front, there will be pres
sure from liberal Democrats to
spend more.
Then he urged acceptance of
his voluntary inflation control
program, which the administration
now has spelled out more exp
licitly: “I have asked each group to
hold its increases in wages and
prices below the level that it aver
aged in increases for the last two
years.”
AFL-CIO President George
Meany already has denounced
the proposed restraints, calling
them a step in the road toward
controls. There is evidence of that
concern among businessmen,
too.
With all those pressures at
work, Carter will have quite a job
keeping the balance he said is es
sential. His insistence that the
program should not be altered re
calls his position at the start of the
long, still inconclusive fight for an
energy bill.
At the outset, he proposed a
nickel a gallon gasoline tax to
penalize excessive consumption
and vowed to “fight for it until the
last vote in the Congress.” It got
nowhere, and he didn’t fight much.
This fall he has staked out a
fallback position, of sorts. He said
the four phases of his economic
blueprint had to go together. Then
he added:
“If the Congress should change
any of those factors — which I
hope they will not — then we
would have to use our own influ
ence in the Congress and with the
American people to try to induce
them to accept some reasonable
alternative which would still keep
a balanced economic package.”
m,NS. HISfelNS,LETS RUN THK0U6H TOUR EURES AS A WOMAN ASTRONAUT—
WNNR6HT HERE IS fflFFEE NO CREAM,NIOOUS THERE IS TEA WfTH, AND I'M PLAIN MILK."